WSU gets big bang from Moos bucks

Want to know why no one is ever angry when word comes out about a hire a day or two early? Just take yesterday’s Bill Moos-is-the-athletic-director-at-WSU news. It breaks here yesterday morning, then all afternoon everyone is talking about Bill Moos and WSU. Today’s papers are filled with, yes, Bill Moos and WSU (including our story). Today, there will be a press conference about, ya, we know, Bill Moos and WSU. Tonight Bill Moos and WSU will be all over the news. Tomorrow, there will be more in the papers about Bill Moos and WSU. And on and on. And that’s why no one is upset when the big press conference isn’t the first you hear about it. Read on for more about Bill Moos and WSU – and other stuff.

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• Washington State: There is more about Moos out there, of course, including a column by Bud Withers in the Times and a story from freelancer Howie Stalwick in the Kitsap Sun and other papers. And there will be more today. … Finally, Jim Moore weighed in with his thoughts. … There is a pretty big basketball game this weekend – there were some tickets still available earlier this week – which we want to get to in more depth today. We’ll pass along Quincy Pondexter’s clarification of his Sunday night comments from the Times. For every step Pondexter took backward, Isaiah Thomas took one forward, however.

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• Around the Pac-10: Remember Reeves Nelson, the powerful UCLA power forward who hit the floor at Friel Court last Thursday and needed 14 stitches over his right eye? Well Nelson had surgery this week on his left eye, injured earlier this season, and his status for this weekend’s games with the Oregon schools will be determined today. … First up for the Bruins in Pauley is Oregon State, which hasn’t won against UCLA in a while. … The buzz around the USC program last weekend didn’t just come from the basketball games, but from some off-court excitement as well. Coach Kevin O’Neill revealed how his day went last Friday. … The news from Oregon is also from off the court, with Withers wondering who will replace Ernie Kent. … Arizona State controls its destiny in the regular season race. … Stanford, ASU’s Thursday opponent, may not be in the race this year, but expects to be a factor in years to come. … Cal want to win this year, and the Bears are hoping their fans will make an impact this weekend. … Arizona now knows there is only one way to make the NCAAs. Win the Pac-10 tourney.

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• That’s all for this morning. We’ll be back later today with more basketball news and, of course, Bill Moos-is-officially-the-athletic-director-at-WSU news. Until then …